Copyholder



Jan. 26 1926.

W. A. HOMAN COPYHOLDER Filed Nov. 25, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WALTER/7. HON/UV.

Jan. 26 1926.

. w.'A. HOMAN COPYHOLDER Filed Nov. 25, 1924 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 gm-cantor WA! 70? A. HUMAN.

Jan. 26 1926.

W. A. HOMAN COPYHOLDER Filed Nov. 25, .1924

4 Sheets-Sheet a Jan. 26 1926. 1,570,744 w. A. HOMAN COPYHOLDER Filed Nov. 25, 1924 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented Jan. 26, 1926.

UNITED. STATES WALTER A, Home; inut ae, commi oorYHo nna.

Application filed November 25, 1924.- Serial No. 752,111-

of Colorado, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Copyholders; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of. the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to .-which itappertains to make and :use the saine,,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which. form a part of this specification. I

This invention relates to copyholders for use-in connectionwith typewriters and relat'es more particularly to improvements in the. type of copyholdersdescribed and claimed in mv copending application, Serial No. 582.677, filedAugust 18, 1922.

It is the obiect of this invention to produce a copyholder that shall be so constructed that it will hold the copy directly in front of the-operator and directly over the tvpewriter at the proper distance to enable the operator to read the copy without undue strain.

It is a further object of this invention to produce a holder having aflexible cylinder that-can be re. dilydistorted for the purpose of accommodating the size thereof to the thir ness of the copy.

I The aboveand other objects, that will becozize apparent as the description proreeds. are obtained bymeans of a construction which I will nowprooeed to describe in .detail, reference for this purpose being had to the accompanying drawing in which the preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated, and in which:

Fig.1 is aside elevation of my improved copyholder showing the position of the typewriter by means of dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of my copyholder;

Fig- 8 is a longitudinal section taken on line 3-3, Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 4-4:, Fig. 3;

a section taken on line 5-5, Fig. 3:

Fig. 6 is a section taken on lineG-G, Fig. 2: and

7 isa section taken on line 77, F 3,;a-nd shows the manner in which-the copy is held ,inplace.

Myimproved copyholder comprises two standards .1 and 2 secured at their lower ends to-plates 3 whichserve as feet, and which are of .suflicient length. to extend underneatluthe typewriter and .to support the latter'insthe .mannershown in Fig. 1. The typewriter, which is of considerable weight. and whichzis usuallyfastened tothe desk by=screws, serves-. to hold. the supports 1 and,2 rigidly in upright position. The upper ends of the vertical standards 1 and 2 have bearings .4 and 25,: respectively. A. U- shaped framemember .has one side 6 rotatablymounted in the bearings 4 and'5 and a second side member. 7 7 parallel with the side 6.and connected thereto by -a straight portion 8. The freeends ofthe sidemembers 6 and 7:,arethreaded, as indicated by numeral 9, and-are joined by means of couplings 10 to the end bar 11. The parts designated by numerals 6,7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 form a rectangular frame which may be rotated :in the bearings 4 and 5.; The bearing indicated bynumera'l 4 has one .end provided with a notch 12, while side Ghas-a sleeve 13 slidably mounted thereon. This Isleeve has a projecting portion 14 of :smaller angular extent thanythe notch 12;: This projection cooperates withthe notch for the purpose of limiting the rotation of the rectangular frame. Itwill be noted-that the sleeve 13 has an elongated slot :15 for the reception of a pin .16., Acompression spring 17 has one end abutting a pin. 18 that is securedin the side member .Gand theother end abutting the sleeve 13, and tends to hold the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2; A pin 19 extends transversely through the side 6 on the other side of the bearing 4. WVhen the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 2, the

' rectangular frame can be rotated to the extent of the angular difference between the notch 12 and the projection 14. By moving the sleeve 13 :tothe left-a sufficient distance to disengage the projection 14 from the bearing 4, the frame Ana-y. be rotatedto a greater extent.

Referring .now. more particularly to Fig. 3, it will be noted that a disk 20'is secured to the rod 7 "and prevented from rotation thereon by means of a pin- 21 that extends through the rod and the hub 22. The disk 20 is provided with: a flange-'23that extends partially around the outer periphery thereof.

A-short sleeve 24 is loosely mounted on the bar 7 and serves to space the ratchet wheel from the disk 20. This ratchet wheel is rotatably mounted on the bar 7 and is in frictional engagement with the surface of a disk 26 that is non-rotatably secured to one end of the tube 27 which, in turn, is retatably secured to the bar 7. A nut 28 is secured to the thread-ed end portion of the bar 7 and serves as an abutment for one end of a helical compression spring 29 whose other end abuts the loose collar 30 and tends to move it and the tube 27 towards the left in the manner clearly apparent from an inspection of Fig. 3. A wheel 31 is non-rotatably secured to the other end of the tube 27 and serves as a means for rotating the tube with its attached arts, which will presently be described. S dcured to the tube 27, in such a manner that it will not rotate thereon, is a U-shaped member comprising parallel side arms 32 and 33 whose outer ends are connected by a straight bar 34. The bar 34 is wider than the arms 32 and 33 and one side of the bar 34, therefore, projects to one side of the arms in the manner shown in Fig. 1. The function of this overhanging part will appear as the description proceeds. The bar 34 is perforated at two points, equidistantly spaced from the arms 32 and 33, and two inwardly extending headed pins 35 are secured in the openings (Fig. A resilient sheet of thin steel or other suitable metal 36, which forms the resilient cylinder, is provided with two openings for the reception of the pins 35 and is yieldingly held against the inner surface of the bar 34 by means of the helical compression springs 37. The metal sheet 36 is bent into the shape of .a cylinder with the free end lying underneath and overlapping the other end (Fig. 1). For the purpose of holding the sheet 36 in its cylindrical shape and preventing it from unrolling, I have provided a curved sheet metal member 38 which encloses slight ly. more than one-half of the flexible cylinder. The ends of the member 38 are bent around and secured to the pins 39 and 4f), one end of each of which is secured, respectively, to the radial arms 41 and 42 that extend from the disk 20. It is evident that the cylinder formed from the strip of sheet metal 36, as it tends to expand and straighten out, will engage the inner surface of the strap 33 and that the'cylinder is adapted to yield so as to accommodate the manuscript that is to be copied, and which is attached thereto in a manner that will hereinafter be explained. I

I will now explain the mechanism for rotating the cylinder with a step by step movement. Referring now more particularly to Figs. 3, 4and 5, it will be seen that a handle 43 is pivoted to the disk 20 at 44. This handle is provided with a pin (most cle rly sho n F g A cm v tseetor-shaped member 46 is pivoted on the sleeve 24. This member has two arms 47 and 48 that extend radially a short distance and terminate in forwardly projecting portions 49 and 50, the extreme ends 51 and 52 of which are bent at an angle to the plane of the member so as to form rests for the free ends of the springs 53 and 54, the otier ends of which are connected to the pawls 55 and 56 which are pivoted, respectively, at 57 and 58. A tension spring 59 has one end connected to the plate 46 at 60 and the other end connected to the flange 23 at 61. This spring tends to rotate the plate 46 in a counter-clockwise direction into such a position that the rear edge of the arm 47 comes into contact with the stop 62 (Fig. 4). By exerting pressure on the handle 43 and moving the same downwardly into the position shown in Fig. 5 the pin 45, which engages the upper edge of the plate 46, will cause the latter to rotate clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 5. It is now apparent how the plate 46 and the pawls 55 and 56 are oscillated about the bar 7. A plate 63 is pivotally mounted on the sleeve 24 in the manner shown in Fig. 4. This plate has two arcuate portions 64 and 65 that are concentric with the axis of the rod 7. These arcuate portions are separated or spaced by a notch or opening bounded by the curved line 66. Secured to the uper end of the plate 63 is a spring detent 67 that engages the notches 63 and holds the plate in adjusted position.

Mounted on the rod 7 between the plate 63 and the disk 26 is a ratchet wheel 25 having a large number of teeth 69. The radius to the outer points of the teeth 69 is slightly less than the radius of the arcuate portions 64 and 65 so that when the ends of the pawls ride on the arcuate portions, they cannot engage the ratchet teeth. By rotating the plate 63 about its pivot, the number of teeth that the pawls will engage and move, can be determined. In the position shown in Fig. 5 the movement of the ratchet wheel for each operation of the handle is the minimum and amounts to cn'ehalf the angular distance between the teeth. This ability to rotate the ratchet wheel the angular distance of onehalf a tooth is due to the fact that the distance from the front end of each arcuate portion to that of the other, is equal to a whole number of teeth plus one-half a tooth. By moving the plate counter-clockwise, a movement as large as three or more teeth can be effected by one movement of the handle 43. The operation of the rotating or step by step mechanism is quite clearly apparent from Fig. 5. Let us suppose that the handle 43 is released, it will promptly be moved upwardly through the action of the spring 59 and the plate 46. T his oei nits the pawls 55 and 56, to be ro-- tated counter-clockwise until they attain the position shown in Fig. 4 with their tips resting on-the arcuate portions 64: and 65. \Vhen the handle 43 is depressed, the plate 43:6 and the pawls Will be moved to the position shown in Fig. 5. Pawl will have no effect, as it will merelyengage'the same ratchet tooth that it I formerly engaged. Pawl 56, however, will engage the tooth marked and move the ratchet Wheel onehalf a tooth. On the next operation the pawl will become effective, etc. If the plate 63 is moved counter-cloclnvise about its pivot a greater movement will be imparted tothe ratchet wheel by each operation of the handle 43.

i will now explain the manner in which the copy is attached to the cylinder and for this purpose I have shown a partial section of the cylinder taken on line 77, Fig. 3. in this figure the copy is designated by numeral. 71. The top of the copy is clamped between the end of the cylinder 36 and the bar 3 which is made possible by the con- .struction which permits the member 36 to be moved inwardly against the tension of the springs 37. The bottom of the copy is clamped against the cylinder by scans of the spring tongue 72 that has been cut from the metal of the cylinder 36. In this way both ends of the copy are held. The member 38 whichsurrounds the cylinder for a portion of its circumference, helps to smooth the copy.

In Fig. 2.1 have shown a liner 73 that is secured to the bar 39. The lines on the copy may be adjusted so as to correspond to the lines by rotating the member 31 which is secured to the. tube 2?. The frictional engagement between the disk 26 and the ratchet wheel makes this adjustment possible. The pressure between 25 and 26 is detern'iinedby the extent of the compression of the spring 29 and. this may be regulated by the net 28. By moving the sleeve 13 towards the left a sufiicient distance to disconnect the. projection 14 from the notch 12, the copyholder cylinder may be moved to-the dotted line position A in Fig. 1 or dropped down onto the top of-the typewriter.

From the above description, it is evident that I have produced a copyholder that is exceedingly well adapted for the purpose, and which will hold the copy in the best possible position for clear and unobstructed vision. c

1. want to call particular attention to the construction of the cylinder which I believe is made in an entirely new way. The use of a single piece of resilient sheet metal secured at one end to the inside of the transverse bar Fri and held from unrolling by means of an outer band 38, produces a cylinder that possesses many marked advantages over a cylindrical member of ordinary construction when employed in this relation. The copy may readily be clamped in place between the bar 3% and the cylinder surface by the simple expedient of pressing the I member 86 downwardly against the springs 37. Besides the great simplicity of this cylindrical construction and the ease by which the copy may be fastened, it automatically adjusts its diameter to accommodate different thicknesses of copy.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. A copyholder comprising, in combination, a pair of spaced vertical standards adapted to rest on the top of axlesk, each of said standards having a horizontal hearing near theirupper ends, a substantially rectangular frame havingone sidepivotally mounted in said, bearings,- meansfor limiting the amount of rotation of the frame in said bearings to a predetermined amount,

and means for rendering said limiting means said standards having a horizontal bearing 7 near their upper ends, a substantially rectangular frame having one side pivotally mounted in said bearings, means for limiting the amount of rotation of the frame in said bearings to a predetermined amount, means for rendering said limiting means inoperative, a cylinder mounted for rotation on the side of the frame opposite from the one about which the frame rotates, and means for rotating said cylinder with a step by step movement.

3. A copyholder comprising, in combination, a support provided with cylindrical bearings having a horizontal axis, a rectangular frame having one side pivotally mounted in said hearing so as to be adapted to be oscillated therein, means for limiting the angular extent of said oscillation, a cyl inder mounted for rotation on the side of the frame opposite from the side about which it oscillates, and means for rotating means for adjusting the tension of said clutch.

5. A copyholder comprising, in combination, a support provided with cylindrical bearings having a horizontal axis, a rectangular frame having one side pivotally mounted in said bearing so as to be adapted to be oscillated therein, means for limiting the angular extent of said oscillation, a cylinder mounted for rotation on the side of the frame opposite from the side about which it oscillates, means for rotating the cylinder by a step by step movement, said means comprising a friction clutch, means for adjusting the tension of said clutch, and means for securing a copy to said cylinder.

6. A copyholdcr comprising, in combination, a support provided with cylindrical bearings having a horizontal axis, a rectangular frame having one side pivotally mounted in said hearing so as to be adapted to be oscillated therein, means for limiting the angular extent of said oscillation, a cylinder mounted for rotation on the side of the frame opposite from the side about which it oscillates, means for rotating the cylinder by a step by step movement, said means comprising a friction clutch, means for adjusting the tension of said clutch, means for securing a copy to said cylinder, and means secured to the frame and partially surrounding the cylinder for holding the copy against the cylinder.

7. A copyholder comprising, in combina tion, a support provided with cylindrical bearings having a horizontal axis, a rectangular frame having one side pivotally mounted in said bearing so as to be adapted to be oscillated therein, means for limiting the angular extent of said oscillation, a cylinder mounted for rotation on the side of the frame opposite from the side about which it oscillates, means for rotating the cylinder by a step by step movement, said means comprising a friction clutch, means for adjusting the tension of said clutch, means for securing a copy to said cylinder, and means secured to the frame and partially surrounding the cylinder for holding the copy against the cylinder, said cylinder being expansible and contractible whereby its diameter will vary in accordance with the thickness of the copy,

8.111 a copyholder, in combination, a support, a substantially rectangular frame pivotally mounted on the support, a tubular member rotatably secured to one side of said frame, a U-shaped frame member having the ends of its parallel sides non rotatably secured to said tubular member so to form therewith a rectangular frame, and a resilient sheet secured at one end to the U-shaped frame, said sheet being curved into substantially cylindrical form with the free end lying underneath the end that is secured to the U-shaped frame, and means secured to the first-named frame and partially surrounding the cylinder for the purpose of holding the sheet against straightening out.

9. In a coypholder, in' combination, a support, a substantially rectangular frame pivotally mounted on the support, a tubular member rotatably secured to one side of said frame, a U-shaped frame member having the ends of its parallel sides non-rotatably secured to said tubular member so as to form therewith a rectangular frame, and a resilient sheet secured at one end to the U shaped frame, said sheet being curved into substantially cylindrical form with the free end lying underneath the end that is secured to the U-shaped frame, means secured to the first-named frame and partially surrounding the cylinder for the purpose of holding the sheet against straightening out, and means for rotating said cylinder with a step by step movement, said means comprisin a spring-pressed friction clutch.

10. fn a copyholder, in combination, a support, a substantially rectangular frame pivotally mounted on the support, a tubular member rotatably secured to one side of said frame, a U-shaped frame member having the ends of its parallel sides non-rotatably secured to said tubular member so as to form therewith a rectangular frame, and a resilient sheet secured at one end to the U- shaped frame, said sheet being curved into substantially cylindrical form with the free end lying underneath the end that is secured to the U-shaped frame, means secured to the first-named frame and partially surrounding the cylinder for the purpose of holding the sheet against straightening out, means for rotating said cylinder with a step by step movement, said means comprising a spring-pressed friction clutch, and means for adjusting the tension on said clutch.

11. A copyholder comprising, in combination, a horizontal axle, means for supporting said axle above the surface of a desk, a U-shaped frame having its side members rotatably mounted on the horizontal axle so as to form with the axle a rectangular frame, a sheet of resilient material secured to said frame by yielding means, said sheet being bent so as to encircle said axle and having its ends overlapping, and means secured to the axle and partially surrounding said bent sheet to prevent the latter from straightening out.

12. A copyholder comprising, in combina tion, a horizontal axle, means for supporting said axle above the surface of a desk, a Ushaped frame having its side members rotatably mounted on the horizontal axle so as to form with the axle a rectangular frame, a sheet of resilient material secured to said frame by yielding means, said sheet being bent so as to encircle said axle and having its ends overlapping, means secured to the a le. and pa t a y su roun ing s id bent sheet to prevent the latter from straightening out, and means for rotating the rectangular frame with the attached sheet with a step by step movement, said means comprising a ratchet Wheel and two pawls adapted to cooperate therewith.

13. A copyholder comprising, in combination, a horizontal axle, means for supporting said axle above the surfaceof a desk, a U-shaped frame having its side members rotatably mounted on the horizontal axle so as to form with the axle a rectangular frame, a sheet of resilient material secured to said frame by yielding means, said sheet being bent so as to encircle said axle and having its ends overlapping, means secured to the axle and partially surrounding said bent sheet to prevent the latter from straightening out, means for rotating the rectangular frame with the attached sheet with a step by step movement, said means comprising a ratchet wheel and two pawls adapted to cooperate therewith, and means comprising two spaced cam surfaces for controlling the action of said pawls.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

' WALTER A. HOMAN. 

